Subj : November 20th - Saint Felix of Valois To : All From : rich Date : Mon Nov 19 2018 08:30:54 From: rich November 20th - Saint Felix of Valois, Founder (by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876) St. Felix, of the royal house of Valois, was born in France, in 1127, and m= anifested in his earliest childhood great compassion towards the poor. Whil= e yet in the arms of his nurse, no greater pleasure could be given him than= to allow him to bestow alms on the needy. When older, he sent the best dis= hes from his table to the poor; and it happened more than once, that he gav= e his own cloak to some beggar, because he happened not to have anything el= se at hand. He once implored mercy and life for a condemned criminal, who, = he said, was destined to become a great saint; and the event justified the = prediction. Having passed his youth in acquiring knowledge, and in the practice of vir= tue, Felix resolved to serve the Almighty in retirement and solitude. He fi= rst, however, took holy orders, so as to deprive himself of all hope of eve= r attaining the crown, from which, by his birth, he was not far removed. Af= ter having said his first Mass, he went into a desert, where he led a very = austere life, which was made extremely sweet to him by divine consolations;= so that he intended to spend his whole life, unknown, in that lonely place= ... But the Almighty, who had chosen him for greater work, sent to him a nobl= e young doctor from Paris, named John of Matha, who had also been ordained = priest, and who desired to walk in the path of perfection under his directi= on. St. Felix received him with great pleasure; for he perceived in the can= didate great inclination to virtue. They had lived harmoniously together, i= n great piety, for three years, when, one day, while they were sitting besi= de a well, in devout discourse, a stag, bearing a blue and red cross betwee= n its antlers, came suddenly forth from the bushes. St. Felix, greatly amaz= ed, knew not what to say; but John made use of the occasion to relate a vis= ion which he had had while saying his first holy Mass, and which was vividl= y recalled to his memory by the appearance of this stag. Both saints sank upon their knees and prayed that they might be favored to = recognize more clearly the will of God. Heaven inspired both with an intens= e desire to labor for the ransom of those prisoners who languished under th= e yoke of the Turks and other barbarians, and thus save many from the dange= r of renouncing their faith, and going to eternal ruin. Both were admonishe= d three times during their sleep to found a special order for this end, and= to request, at Rome, the necessary permission. Innocent III., who sat at t= hat time on the papal throne, was greatly pleased with such holy intentions= , but desired to confer on the subject with some learned men, and consult t= he will of the Almighty in prayer. During holy Mass the Pope saw the same v= ision which had been shown to St John of Matha, during his first Mass, as w= e related. On the 8th of February, putting away all doubt, Innocent approve= d the plan of the new "Order of the Most Holy Trinity, for the Redemption o= f Captives," and invested the two holy founders with the habit. The first m= onastery was founded in the diocese of Meaux, by means of ample donations f= rom charitable persons whom God had moved to favor the undertaking; whilst = others eagerly flocked to the monastery, as soon as it was completed, to de= vote their lives to the noble work of ransoming their captive brethren. When this happy beginning had been made, St. John again set out for Rome, l= eaving the government of the house to St. Felix, who, by word and example, = led those under him in the path of religious perfection. He represented to = them, with special energy, the many and fearful dangers of those Christians= who were slaves among the barbarians, as many of them forsook the Christia= n faith, either from fear of greater misery, or in the hope of regaining th= eir liberty. The same representations he made to the laity in his sermons; = and thus, after having awakened in the hearts of his religious a great desi= re to relieve the captives, he also induced the laity to contribute liberal= ly to their ransom. With the funds thus collected, the religious of the new= order sailed to Africa, where they knew that the Christians were imprisone= d. They bought them from the infidels, liberated them from slavery, and sav= ed them, not only from temporal misery, but, what was of much greater impor= tance, from the imminent danger of going to eternal ruin. It is easy to conceive that the disciples of St. Felix, in this holy work, = had to combat with many and great dangers, and also to endure numberless su= fferings and hardships. But they were so inflamed by their holy Master with= love for God and their neighbor, that they feared neither danger nor disho= nor, nor even death. All this gave great comfort to St. Felix, as he consid= ered that, in this manner, many souls were saved for eternity. The holy man= received great favors from heaven, among which may be counted the vision w= hich he had, in the night preceding the festival of the Nativity of the Ble= ssed Virgin. He went, according to his custom, an hour earlier than the res= t to the choir, in order to pray. On arriving there, he saw the divine Moth= er, surrounded by a great many angels. Going towards them, he fell into ecs= tasy, and with them sang the praises of the Almighty; when one of them told= him that he would soon be called into heaven to sing eternally the glory o= f the Almighty. Felix, greatly rejoicing, called his disciples to him, admo= nished them most earnestly to remain constant in their devotion to the capt= ives; and, after receiving the holy Sacraments, gave his soul calmly into t= he hands of his Maker, in the 85 year of his age. See more at: http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Felix%20Valois%20and%20St.%= 20Columban.html Saint Quote: Reason can but ascertain the profound difficulties of our condition, it ca= nnot remove them. --Blessed John Cardinal Newman Bible Quote: 7=C2 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, =E2=80=9CToday, when you hear his voice, 8=C2 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9=C2 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. (Heb. 3:7-9) RSVCE <><><><> Prayer of Saint Gertrude Eternal Father, I offer thee the most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Je= sus Christ, in union with the Masses said today, for all the Holy Souls in = Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, tho= se in my own home and within my family. Amen. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .